Safe Passage Project To Save Lives And Protect Students

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), St. James, Angela McIntosh-Gayle, says the Government’s $14-million Safe Passage Project will be instrumental in saving lives and protecting students as they travel on the streets to and from school.

Speaking at the handover of the Salt Spring Safe Passage Project, Salt Spring Primary School, St. James, on January 27, DSP McIntosh-Gayle commended the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), the lead agency in charge of the State-sponsored initiative, noting that the project could not have come at a more opportune time, especially with road casualties escalating out of control.

The project, which falls under JSIF’s Integrated Community Development Project II, was implemented between May and November 2021, and will benefit 180 students at the Salt Spring Primary School and 30 students at the nearby Hartfield Basic School.

It has already been implemented in eight schools across Jamaica, under the first phase of the Integrated Community Development Project, which was funded by the World Bank.

Four other communities are being targeted for the project under the current phase, to include Anchovy, St James; Tread Light, Clarendon; Greenwich Town, Kingston; and August Town in St Andrew.

The project contains several components, including the rehabilitation/construction of sidewalks, bus bays, guardrails, road signs, as well as comprehensive public education and road safety programmes, “to include staff, students, and residents,” DSP McIntosh-Gayle noted.

“The welfare of our children is pivotal to the development and growth of all communities. The outstanding services of JSIF must be lauded as they have nailed it yet again. Our children are our future, and when they see that people do care they will adopt a more caring attitude,” she said.

DSP McIntosh-Gayle argued that because of the Safe Passage Project, students at the Salt Spring Primary School will now be able to walk along the roadway to and from school in a much safer environment.

“We the police in the St. James Police Division, along with our law-abiding citizens, will continue to do our part to make our communities safe for our children,” she added.

For her part, Senior Project Officer at JSIF, Shunelle Nevers, said the Safe Passage Project aims to provide a safe environment for students as they travel along specific streets, thoroughfares and bus stops, which are near to or on school campuses.

“It is a programme that will have a positive impact on the Salt Spring community,” she emphasised.